Jerusalem, Jun 24: US President Donald Trump claimed a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was “in effect” on Tuesday, after expressing deep frustration with both sides and accusing them of violating the agreement he brokered.
Israel earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect. The Iranian military denied firing on Israel, state media reported. Trump expressed anger and frustration as he told reporters at the White House that both Israel, a close ally, and Iran had violated the ceasefire plan. But later he said the deal was saved, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he held off on tougher strike against Iran after speaking to Trump.
As a cease-fire between Iran and Israel took effect Tuesday, Israel’s emergency services released final figures from 12 days of fighting. According to the data, 1,347 people in Israel were affected, including 28 killed, 17 seriously wounded, 29 moderately wounded, 872 lightly wounded and 401 treated for anxiety.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel struck an Iranian radar in response to the Iranian missile attack early Tuesday. But it says the Israeli leader held off tougher action after an appeal from President Donald Trump. “Following President Trump’s conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from additional attacks,” Netanyahu’s office says.
A high-profile Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in an Israeli strike, Iran state TV said, making him the latest in a list of top atomic experts who are said to have been killed in Israeli attacks over the last 12 days. Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber, who the US State Department had sanctioned last month, was killed at his father-in-law’s residence in an early Tuesday morning strike in northern Iran, according to the report. It added that three projectiles had hit the residence, and an earlier round of strikes had killed his 17-year-old son on June 13.
The Council on Foreign Relations on Monday said that Israeli strikes had killed at least 10 nuclear scientists since the Israel-Iran war broke out. The US State Department last month described Sedighi Saber as the head of Iran’s Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research’s Shahid Karimi Group, which works on explosives-related projects, adding that he was “linked to projects including research and testing applicable to the development of nuclear explosive devices.” Turkiye has welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran but also said it was closely monitoring statements indicating violations. In a statement issued Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry urged all parties to fully observe the ceasefire the “critical period ahead,” saying the Middle East was in need of peace and stability. The ministry also called for the resolution of the Palestinian issue which it described as being at the “root of many problems in the Middle East.” French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed concerns that the Israel-Iran war has increased the risk that Iranian leaders will continue work in secret to enrich uranium that can be used for nuclear weapons. “This risk has, it’s true, increased with what has happened recently,” Macron said. He was asked if Iranian uranium-enrichment work could continue in secret after nearly two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and the dropping of giant bunker-busting bombs by US stealth bombers on Iranian nuclear plants.
He repeated France’s desire for negotiations to address concerns about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. “Our shared objective is that Iran doesn’t equip itself with a nuclear weapon,” he said. Qatar has condemned Iranian attacks on US air base. “Attacking Qatar is unacceptable… we were surprised by the attack on the military base,” said Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, referring to Monday’s attack on the Al Udeid Air Base.
The base is a sprawling desert facility in Qatar that serves as a major regional military hub for American forces. He told reporters Tuesday that the Iranian attack had left a “scar” on his country’s relationship with Tehran. Al Thani said Qatar will not resort to escalatory steps, but will rely on legal measures and diplomacy instead when responding to the attack. He added that Qatar intercepted all missiles except one that fell in a deserted area.
An Israeli strike Monday on Iran’s city of Karaj near Tehran killed seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, including two generals with the paramilitary force, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. A military plane evacuating 101 French nationals from Israel to Cyprus took off from Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday, French authorities said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said similar evacuation flights will follow. Priority is given to those with medical and humanitarian issues, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Those who can travel on their own can still cross to Jordan and Egypt to take commercial flights, it said.
A deputy governor in Iran’s northern Gilan province along the Caspian Sea said an Israeli strike before the ceasefire killed nine civilians, state media reported.
Iran said it transferred all inmates out of its notorious Evin prison after an Israeli strike targeted the facility on Monday. Iran’s Prisons Organisation said all the inmates had been moved to other prisons around the capital, Tehran. It said the move was necessary for workers to repair damage there.
Iran’s top security body has praised its military for its conduct in the 12-day war with Israel, likely signalling Tehran believes the ceasefire will hold.
The statement from the Supreme National Security Council came as Israel said it would conduct immediate strikes on Iran for allegedly violating the terms of US President Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire in the war. Egypt and Saudi Arabia welcome Trump ceasefire plan. Egypt said in a statement Tuesday morning that it welcomes US President Donald Trump’s announcement of reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“It is a critical point into ending this conflict between both countries and restoring peace in the region,” the statement read. Egypt called upon the countries to fully abide by the ceasefire and practice full restraint. Saudi Arabia on Tuesday also welcomed Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire, though the hopeful statement came as the agreement was faltering. “The Kingdom looks forward to all parties committing to de-escalation in the coming period,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said. Less than three hours after the ceasefire came into effect, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran had “completely violated” the ceasefire by launching missiles.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned Iran’s ambassador to the country and stressed that Monday’s attack on a U.S. military base there was a violation of international law and Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it affirmed that it “reserves the right to respond to this blatant violation in accordance with international law.” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran had “completely violated” the ceasefire between Israel and Iran by launching missiles more than two hours after the ceasefire came into effect. Katz said he instructed the Israeli military to resume targeting Iranian paramilitary and government targets in Tehran. According to Israel’s emergency services, there were no injuries in the missiles launched towards Israel after the ceasefire started. Overnight, just before the ceasefire started, Israel launched more than 100 munitions targeting dozens of sites in Tehran, including missile launchers. The Awda hospital in Gaza’s urban Nuseirat refugee camp said another 146 people were wounded when Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks. Among them were 62 in critical condition, who were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza, it said.
In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said it received the bodies of six people who were killed in the same incident. The deaths were the latest in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza which killed about 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than a half of the dead were women and children. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostages. Most of the hostages were released by ceasefire agreements. “It was a massacre,” said Ahmed Halawa.
He said tanks and drones fired at people, “even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded.” Hossam Abu Shahada, another eyewitness, said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds first, then there was gunfire from tanks and drones as people were moving eastward. He described a “chaotic and bloody” scene as people were attempting to escape. He said he saw at least three people lying on the ground motionless and many others wounded as he fled the site.
Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian witnesses and hospitals said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has agreed to the bilateral ceasefire with Iran in coordination with President Donald Trump. Netanyahu said that he had reported to Israel’s security cabinet Monday night that Israel had achieved all of its war goals in the 12-day operation against Iran, including removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Israel also damaged Iran’s military leadership and several government sites and achieved control over Tehran’s skies, Netanyahu said. “Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire,” Netanyahu said.
